The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-12-22
LITERATURE BY THE TON.
A Long and Attractive Array of Samples
Poetry, Fiction and Law-Ben-Hur and
James WhitcOmb Riley.

Indianapolis is bookish sort of place, so
much so chat it has been called 1.-THE Western
Boston" There certainly is no city in the
world the size of this that show as large
sales of books as Indianapolis during the past
year. and certainly not half as large during the
four weeks Immediately preceding Christmas,
1887.
Those who see only the main sales-room of
the Bowen Merrill Company large as 1t is, have
idea of the size of this establishment the
quantity of goods carried. This week the second
floor has beer opened to the retail trade, and all
are given an opportunity to select from variety
that seldom offers All the Christmas samples
in plush goods, inkstands, albums, and the thou
sand and one other beautiful and useful things
sold by this house here displayed for sale.
Here are toilet cases for ladies, gentlemen's
shaving sets, collar and cuff boxes, and host of
things that could hardly be enumerated in the
compass of pocket dictionary.
"Of what class of books do you sell most| in
quired the interviewer.
'Oh, the cheaper ones, of course" said Mr..
Meigs, the secretary of the firm, "such as the
now famous ALTA and Arlington editions of
the standard 12mos-, of which alone have
sold this season about %, 900 copies This does
not include the many more copies OF other cheap
books of poetry and prose-say 100 900 altogeth-
er-DeSlQoS
lar novels and other books in paper CO vers-"
On the third floor dozen or more men were
busily at work packing goods, filling CHRISTMAS
wholesale orders, though the trade in that re-
spect is now considered about over. Here the
reporter noticed a long line of special bins other
than the regular shelving, with books in them
These are arranged for popular literature, like
the books of the Lowell library print. There are
$50 bins, each of capacity to hold seventy-hve OF
these books. Most of them would average half
full-a good-sized bookstore in itself. On the
fcl6 Ia ~ fto rfar mi
a great stock of Gen. Lew Wallaces famous
novel, "Ben-Hur." which, he was told, is more
popular than ever and is counted upon to have
brisk sale for a long time TO come. Longtei-
low and Tennyson are the best selling poets,
with our own James Whitcomb Riley good sec
ond.
The Bowen-Merrll Company have much more
than State reputation as dealers in a class OF
literature not much affected by the general
reader-dealers In what was classed oy the tate
George G. Harding as .'the red-eyed law" They
are known all the United States as pub
fishers and dealers in law books, and they take
special pride in the completeness of their stock.
On the fourth floor are thousands ana thousands
OF law books bound in the conventional law
calf, doubtless serenely unconscious of the dis
tress that turks IN their awful pages This is
merely a duplicate stock of what is shown below
stairs In this special field the Bowen Merrill
Company are practically without competition,
and as the great West grows and lawyers multi
ply their trade in law books is constantly and
rapidly increasing.
The Bowen Merrill Company is the result of a
consolidation of two large book concerns made in
January 1885, outgrowth from small begin
nngs of nearly forty years ago, one of the houses
of this consolidation. that of Merrill, Meigs d
Co., having been established in 1850. and the
other, that of Bowen, Stewart & Co., having
been started in 1853 This combination of these
two old houses has proven to be not only wise
business move, but one that has been a real
benefit to the community, inasmuch as it has
established book house here which is one of
the largest and most complete in the United
States, and would be considered a great acquis-
ton to any of the largest cities of the land
The Bowen-Merrill Company this season has
a specially large outfit OF chldren's books, from
the cheapest to the most highly and beautifully
and also, finer works for adults in
the matter of illustration than at any previous
Christmas. 1t is to this last named class of
literature artistic etchings, etc, that they take
special pains to direct the attention of gentlemen
who desire presents for lady friends.